Background:
Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran
Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became
Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled
by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and
allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held
sway since 1959. Hugo CHAVEZ, president since 1999, seeks to implement his "21st
Century Socialism," which purports to alleviate social ills while at the same
time attacking capitalist globalization and existing democratic institutions.
Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political
polarization, a politicized military, drug-related violence along the Colombian
border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum
industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that
are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.

Geography - Venezuela

Location:
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Executive
Vice President Elias JAUA Milano (since 26 January 2010); note - the president
is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999);
Executive Vice President Elias JAUA Milano (since 26 January 2010)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
(For more information visit the World Leaders website )
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for
unlimited reelection); election last held on 3 December 2006 (next to be held in
December 2012)
note: in 1999, a National Constituent Assembly drafted a new constitution that
increased the presidential term to six years; an election was subsequently held
on 30 July 2000 under the terms of this constitution; in 2009, a national
referendum approved the elimination of term limits on all elected officials,
including the presidency
election results: Hugo CHAVEZ Frias reelected president; percent of vote - Hugo
CHAVEZ Frias 62.9%, Manuel ROSALES 36.9%

Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (167 seats; members elected by
popular vote to serve five-year terms; three seats reserved for the indigenous
peoples of Venezuela)
elections: last held on 4 December 2005 (next to be held in 26 September 2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - pro-government
167 (MVR 114, PODEMOS 15, PPT 11, indigenous 2, other 25), opposition 0; total
seats by party as of 16 December 2009 - pro-government 156 (PSUV 141, PPT 5, PCV
4, other 6), PODEMOS 6, FPH 5

Judicial branch:
Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribuna Suprema de Justicia (32 magistrates are
elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term)

Political parties and leaders:
A New Time or UNT [Omar BARBOZA]; Brave People's Alliance or ABP [Oscar PEREZ];
Christian Democrats or COPEI [Luis Ignacio PLANAS]; Communist Party of Venezuela
or PCV [Oscar FIGUERA]; Democratic Action or AD [Henry RAMOS Allup]; Fatherland
for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNOZ]; For Social Democracy or PODEMOS [Ramon
MARTINEZ]; Justice First [Julio BORGES]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS
[Felipe MUJICA]; United Socialist Party of Venezuela or PSUV [Hugo CHAVEZ];
Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Romer]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; VECINOS groups; Venezuelan
Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization dominated by the Democratic
Action)

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), blue, and red with the coat of
arms on the hoist side of the yellow band and an arc of eight white five-pointed
stars centered in the blue band; the flag retains the three equal horizontal
bands and three main colors of the banner of Gran Columbia, the South American
republic that broke up in 1830; yellow is interpreted as standing for the riches
of the land, blue for the courage of its people, and red for the blood shed in
attaining independence; the seven stars on the original flag represented the
seven provinces in Venezuela that united in the war of independence; in 2006,
President Hugo CHAVEZ ordered an eighth star added to the star arc - a decision
that sparked much controversy

Economy - Venezuela

Economy - overview:
Venezuela remains highly dependent on oil revenues, which account for roughly
90% of export earnings, about 50% of the federal budget revenues, and around 30%
of GDP. A nationwide strike between December 2002 and February 2003 had
far-reaching economic consequences - real GDP declined by around 9% in 2002 and
8% in 2003 - but economic output since then has recovered strongly. Fueled by
high oil prices, record government spending helped to boost GDP by about 10% in
2006, 8% in 2007, and nearly 5% in 2008, before the world recession caused a
contraction in 2009. This spending, combined with recent minimum wage hikes and
improved access to domestic credit, has created a consumption boom but has come
at the cost of higher inflation - roughly 20% in 2007 and more than 30% in 2008.
Imports also jumped significantly before the recession of 2009. Declining oil
prices in the latter part of 2008 are undermining the government's ability to
continue the high rate of spending. President Hugo CHAVEZ in 2008-09 continued
efforts to increase the government's control of the economy by nationalizing
firms in the agribusiness, banking, tourism, oil, cement, and steel sectors. In
2007, he nationalized firms in the petroleum, communications, and electricity
sectors. In January, 2010, CHAVEZ announced a dual exchange rate system for the
fixed rate bolivar. The system offers a 2.6 bolivar per dollar rate for imports
of essentials, including food, medicine, and industrial machinery, and a 4.3
bolivar per dollar rate for imports of other products, including cars and
telephones.

Exchange rates:
bolivars (VEB) per US dollar - 2.145 (2009), 2.147 (2008), 2,147 (2007), 2,147
(2006), 2,089.8 (2005)
note: on 1 January 2008 Venezuela revalued its currency with 1000 old bolivares
equal to 1 new bolivar; in January 2010 Venequela introduced a dual exchange
rate system for the fixed rate bolivar, with 2.6 VEB per US dollar on
essentials, and 4.3 VEB per US dollar on all other products

Communications - Venezuela

Telephones - main lines in use:
6.304 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 28

Telephones - mobile cellular:
27.084 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 32

Telephone system:
general assessment: modern and expanding
domestic: domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations; recent substantial
improvement in telephone service in rural areas; substantial increase in
digitalization of exchanges and trunk lines; installation of a national
interurban fiber-optic network capable of digital multimedia services; combined
fixed and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership 125 per 100 persons
international: country code - 58; submarine cable systems provide connectivity
to the Caribbean, Central and South America, and US; satellite earth stations -
1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 PanAmSat; participating with Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the construction of an international fiber-optic
network (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 46, FM 131, shortwave 3 (2008)

Television broadcast stations:
66 (plus 45 repeaters) (1997)

Internet country code:
.ve

Internet hosts:
155,139 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 68

Internet users:
7.167 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 35

Transportation - note:
the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in
the Caribbean Sea as a significant risk for piracy and armed robbery against
ships; numerous vessels, including commercial shipping and pleasure craft, have
been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway; crews have been
robbed and stores or cargoes stolen

Military service age and obligation:
18-30 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; 30-month
conscript service obligation; all citizens 18-50 years old are obligated to
register for military service (2008)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 6,891,648
females age 16-49: 7,047,565 (2010 est.)

Military expenditures:
1.2% of GDP (2005 est.)
country comparison to the world: 122

Transnational Issues - Venezuela

Disputes - international:
claims all of the area west of the Essequibo River in Guyana, preventing any
discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has expressed its intention to join
Barbados in asserting claims before the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS) that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela
extends into their waters; dispute with Colombia over maritime boundary and
Venezuelan-administered Los Monjes islands near the Gulf of Venezuela;
Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary activities penetrate
Venezuela's shared border region; in 2006, an estimated 139,000 Colombians
sought protection in 150 communities along the border in Venezuela; US, France,
and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's granting full effect to Aves Island,
thereby claiming a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large
portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint
Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protest Venezuela's full effect
claim

Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Venezuela is a source, transit, and destination country for
men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual
exploitation and forced labor; Venezuelan women and girls are trafficked within
the country for sexual exploitation, lured from the nation's interior to urban
and tourist areas; child prostitution in urban areas and child sex tourism in
resort destinations appear to be growing; Venezuelan women and girls are
trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to Western Europe, Mexico, and
Caribbean destinations
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Venezuela is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List,
up from Tier 3, as it showed greater resolve to address trafficking through law
enforcement measures and prevention efforts in 2007, although stringent
punishment of offenders and victim assistance remain lacking (2008)

Illicit drugs:
small-scale illicit producer of opium and coca for the processing of opiates and
coca derivatives; however, large quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana
transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe; significant
narcotics-related money-laundering activity, especially along the border with
Colombia and on Margarita Island; active eradication program primarily targeting
opium; increasing signs of drug-related activities by Colombian insurgents on
border